Samsung Galaxy S III Requires New Proprietary MHL-HDMI Adapter

[LoneWolfArcher]

They're copying Apple with the requirement for BS proprietary parts. Apple should sue them for this.

I've always thought Apple was a steaming pile of dog crap for this stuff. Why would Samsung copy such a stupid policy???

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Boo.

 

[tc1]

I never use mhl on my rezound anyway.

 

[revelated]

umm.... what?

+1

I have no idea what dude is trying to say.

The quote was not 100% accurate, since there isn't such a thing as a cheap razor with expensive blades. You can have an expensive razor (Merkur) with cheap blades (any double edge). But his heart was in the right place.

Translated, rather than Samsung taking the low road approach and ensuring that they invest money and tech into making sure that their expensive device (razor) just supports standard ports and protocols (blades) which to consumers is at pennies in terms of cost, they would rather invest even more money and tech to make sure that their expensive device (razor) only supports overpriced proprietary accessories (blades) which we are forced to get from them.

Some people look at it as "oh it's consolidation!!!" I call them sheep unless they do what I say to do in response to the below comment.

MHL is a little bit different technology than HDMI: Mobile High-definition Link - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (see features). Plus it was designed to work on any port type which is why the micro usb port doubles as an MHL connection, versus having to have separate micro usb and hdmi ports

They said the same thing about mini-USB back in the day. Look where we're at. Plus we have cables that don't charge consistently unless you use proprietary versions (Apple), three shades of HDMI, three shades of USB, and now MHL and the rumor that Samsung's variation might not work according to standard.

On the RAZR, for example, I can plug it in to charge with a $2 cable AND send HDMI output from a $5 cable to a TV. MHL seems to mandate a dock to do the same thing - docks are not and have never been cheap. That's the problem. So to do the same thing that costs me $2 now, I'd be upwards of $60-$100 ABOVE the price of the phone.

Don't get me wrong. I don't care or mind them going this route. But then give the dongles free with the phone. Eat the cost yourself or force the carriers to sub it.

 

[skennelly]

Not a big deal to me, or likely most customers, as I would imagine only a small proportion of users actually utilize HDMI output.

However, it's a nice feature to have, so buying a proprietary (and probably expensive) adapter will suck.

Agreed. I never once used the HDMI output on my DX. I have however used a wireless connection and will do the same thing with the S III.

 

[akhenax]

It sounds like Samsung is going back to the days where every phone you bought had a different method of charging. The Golden age was/is when all phones used MicroUSB. Since that was such a great idea, and decreased the amount of old chargers in landfills, let's fill the landfills with propriety equipment!